20 Adventures from my 20s: #20

I love birthdays. And the birthday I love the most is mine. Perhaps you remember my quote on Pam & Doug's Bridal Party board...?

In case you can't read it, it says Kristin "It's My Birthday!" K

One of my favorite adventure from this decade has been

CELEBRATING MY BIRTHDAY IN LAS VEGAS

Not necessarily just my 23rd birthday, where we got upgraded to the celebrity suite with a jacuzzi and workout center in the room...

Not just my 25th birthday, when I won $60+ on a slot machine and cashed out immediately...

Not just my 27th birthday, when Pam brought a homemade cake for me and Rafael and surprised us with a trip to Ghostbar...

Not just my 28th birthday, when we ironically stayed in New York, New York (when I had left the city less than a year previous) and I may or may not have gone crazy and got on stage and tried to sing...

And not just my 29th birthday, when we were having such a good time we didn't take hardly any pictures at all, we watched SDSU lose the Mountain West conference to Wyoming, we stayed at the Wynn and went and saw Lil Jon perform at Surrender...

But the total of all of these. Because year after year, every thinkable combination of this group of friends came, and continued to relive the fun, continued to be amazing people, continued to give me reasons to be happy, and thankful, and grow together and check in on one another and be included. Because if I'm going to celebrate 1/2 of the birthdays in my 20s in the same place, Vegas with these folks is fine by me!

For the record... here were my birthday celebrations the past 10 years:
20: Santa Barbara (with my roommate Amanda!)
21: Bordeaux (surprise party!)
22: Santa Barbara (joint bday party with my roommate Becca, whose bday is March 13th!)
23: Las Vegas (first time in Vegas being over 21!)
24: Lake Havasu (with the Vegas crew!)
25: Las Vegas (Flew in from New York!)
26: New York City (Hosted a bday dinner at Mexican Radio in the Lower East Side!)
27: Las Vegas (Last time flying in from New York!)
28: Las Vegas (Stayed at New York New York Hotel & Casino!)
29: Las Vegas (Stayed at the Wynn!)

And for the record, narrowing down my adventures this decade to just 20 was very hard. I can't believe how much I've done and seen in this time! This group especially is so near and dear to my heart and my how I've grown up... I can't even count all the trips we've take together in some form or another... Vegas, Pala Casino, Lake Havasu, northern California, Santa Barbara, Julian, Chicago, DC, New York, West Virginia, Annapolis... too many good memories!

And what a way to end my 20s... I've had this blog scheduled to auto-publish today, because I am currently in Las Vegas, housed in the Bellagio, to celebrate my 30th birthday tomorrow, with some of these same friends and the newest addition, AJ. I wanted to celebrate my 30th with everyone, family and friends, a la Adam's 30th, but with Shannon's wedding in a month and a half in Europe, I couldn't afford to host a party. But, oh well I suppose. Some things don't need to change.

Goodbye 20s!